


Arachnids & Reptiles

by Anarchist_Puppet_on_Strings (StarlightXNightmare)



Series: Sanders Sides Fics [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Anxiety, First Meetings, Gen, Mentioned Tarantulas, Pre-Slash, Self-Deprecating Talk, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, scorpions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 07:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightXNightmare/pseuds/Anarchist_Puppet_on_Strings
Summary: Virgil goes to buy some insects for his tarantulas and meets the employee working that day.





	Arachnids & Reptiles

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna cry oh my gods this is the first thing I've written in two months that I'm proud of

Virgil had one mission. Buy some crickets and superworms.

Okay, maybe some context is needed.

Just before his recent move, Virgil ended up selling all of his superworms and crickets to a friend. Moving his tarantulas was hard enough, like hell he was gonna deal with inevitably spilling a box full of insects in a moving truck he rented. That’d be a nightmare to clean up. 

Unfortunately, he moved several hours away from his old place, meaning he could no longer frequent the same pet store. He isn't happy with the fact, because that means a whole new store, cashier, and merchandise. And there's nothing Virgil hated more than change.

Nervously, one of his hands went to mess with the strap of his backpack. Virgil examines the building closely, a hand reaching up to tug his headphones off to hang around his neck instead.

The pet shop is a nicer looking store than the one by his old place. The pale yellow paint is nice and neat with the white accents. Colorful posters hang in the windows, advertising sales and products to passerbys. The sign on the roof reads “Glenwood’s Pet Shop.”

He stood in front of the store door, cringing internally at the thought of a brand new place.

_ C’mon, anyone who sees you standing here, doing nothing is going to think you're weird… or loitering. Get a move on, coward. _

Taking a deep breath in, he pulled the door open before he could back out.

A bell jingled softly above his head, making him glance up in surprise before he surveyed the area. The sight of all the aisles and caged animals intimidated in a small building him a bit, but he couldn't let that dissuade him. His angry, bastard children needed to eat eventually.

_ Okay, superworms and crickets. That's all you need. In and out. Get to it. _

Virgil pulled his headphones back on and turned the volume down self-consciously before starting his music and beginning his search. 

A few minutes into his hunt for the bugs, Virgil couldn’t help grow disheartened at his lack of progress. He found some cool stuff but it’s ultimately neither the things he had come here for.

Whilst passing by an aisle full of terrariums, he grew sidetracked by the critters the glass boxes housed.

“They have scorpions here?” Virgil muttered to himself in disbelief. He'd never seen a pet store with scorpions before.

His search is momentarily halted by his curiosity. He peered closer into a terrarium holding a dark brown scorpion pressed low to the ground with big, flat pincers, a skinny tail and small stinger. A flat rock scorpion.

All the more reason to return later for a new pet. He'd always been interested in scorpions.

Someone talking behind him made him flinch and swear in surprise, whirling to see an employee standing with his arms crossed, looking clearly amused. 

“Sorry,” the employee said, not sounding apologetic at all.

Virgil’s face flushed, because  _ shit he'd embarrassed himself in front of someone but also oh no he's hot— _

The man’s tall, standing over Virgil by a few inches. Fluffy blond hair fell into heterochromatic eyes—one a dark brown and another amber. His features are sharp and his nose reminds Virgil of a beak. He has those gold snake earrings that go through and hug the sides of his ears.

“Did you even hear me before?” The employee asked. His voice is smooth and slightly higher than most male’s—the kind of voice people _want_ to listen to.

Virgil blinked, face still burning and horrifically mortified with himself. He debated about lying just to avoid making the other repeat himself but his worry about being caught in the lie made him stay truthful. He reluctantly shook his head.

“Need help finding anything?” He repeated.

“Oh, uh... I—I’m looking for… for crickets.” At the employee’s silence Virgil tacked on, “crickets and superworms.”

The man hummed thoughtfully. “Do you keep lizards?”

“Tarantulas actually.”

The other nodded, gesturing to the cases of scorpions Virgil stood by. “Arachnid kind of guy?”

Virgil's mind is begging him to shut up, get the bugs, leave, and never come back. He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and answers anyway.

“I… guess so?” 

The man beckoned Virgil to follow. “We keep feeder animals in the back. I’m personally more of a reptile guy myself. Specifically snakes.”

“You keep them?” Virgil asked curiously.

“Not the most  _ popular  _ person because of it,” the employee confirmed with a wry grin.

“Well, you can imagine how many people like me for keeping tarantulas,” Virgil said.

“Touché.”

They reached the front counter and the employee put a hand up, signaling for Virgil to stop.

“Wait here.”

Virgil hunched over the counter, elbows propping the rest of his body up as he watched the man disappear into a back room. Within a minute the other is back with two small boxes.

“Did you want a full box of crickets and superworms?”

Virgil nodded, digging into his jeans pocket and pulling his wallet out. 

They completed the transaction smoothly, Virgil tucking the two boxes safely into his otherwise empty backpack and the employee shoving the cash into the register.

“Thanks, uh–” Virgil peered at the cashier’s name tag–”Draven.” He cringed at his own social ineptitude. It’s probably weird to address the cashier by name. Is it weird? He'd already butchered the rest of the interaction anyway—

“Not a problem,” Draven said breezily, cutting off Virgil's thoughts. “Who knows, maybe I’ll see you here again?”

Virgil hummed absentmindedly, tugging his headphones half on.

“Yeah, maybe… I  _ am _ pretty tempted by that flat rock scorpion.” With that he adjusted his headphones.

Draven waggled his fingers at him in a farewell. 

Virgil hit play on his music to distract himself from the burning in his cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: this was going to be a Soulmate AU meeting but it felt forced, so I dropped it.
> 
> I have two tumblrs. One's for kinda everything and the other is for ego and sides shipping, so feel free to follow either one.
> 
> Main account: https://starlightxnightmare.tumblr.com/  
> Secondary account: https://anarchist-puppet-on-strings.tumblr.com/


End file.
